


the uneasy dawn, will become bright again

by kimwonpil



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: (the summary is bad idk how to write one without giving away the plot oops), Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jeong Yunho-centric, Little Space, Team as Family, little!yunho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25272826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimwonpil/pseuds/kimwonpil
Summary: “Yunho would you just shut up?”Those words were all it took to start a chain reaction, and now Yunho was floundering with no one else to turn to. He hated arguments, he hated misunderstandings, but most of all? He hated feeling alone.(or: yunho gets caught up in two sticky situations, angst ensues and yunho slips into little space with the hopes that everything can be okay once again)
Relationships: Jeong Yunho & Everyone, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 157





	the uneasy dawn, will become bright again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [minyoongurt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minyoongurt/gifts).



> hi! ^-^
> 
> i hope everyone is going okay, i'm back with another one shot that i wrote on a whim instead of actually continuing one of my series because why not? this fic pretty much stems from the fact that there is almost no little yunho content in the world and i needed to change that before i made myself sad (plot twist: i did get sad, this fic is the result). i promise the fic is better than the summary but i literally had no clue how to write one at 1am so it may get edited when i'm more awake, apologies!
> 
> this fic is gifted to my buddy em because she has to put up with all my shit 24/7 and i love her :')))
> 
> anyway!! i hope you enjoy reading, have a great week and stay safe everyone!
> 
> (title is taken from about time by hoppipolla)

“Yunho would you just shut up?”

The words left Wooyoung’s mouth and into the practice room before anyone could comprehend what was happening, Yunho instantly clamping his mouth shut and stopping his rambling from where he was sat beside the younger. He shrunk slightly under Wooyoung’s gaze, cold and threatening, as he bit his lip to refrain from tearing up. It didn’t work.

“Oh my god don’t cry, you just need to be quiet for like five minutes, I’m getting a headache.” Wooyoung complained, pinching the bridge of his nose as Yunho’s glassy eyes turned down to the floor. Yunho wished the ground could swallow him whole, everyone staring at him and Wooyoung before turning back to what they were originally doing a moment later.

Practice had been going well, they’d been dancing for almost four hours now and Yunho’s energy was still pretty high, the same couldn’t be said for Wooyoung it seemed. He had only wanted to cheer Wooyoung up, try and get him through the last thirty minutes of practice they had scheduled before they could all go home and have the rest of the weekend off. But Wooyoung had snapped at him, clearly unimpressed with Yunho’s talk of video games and what takeout he wanted to eat for dinner. So Yunho had shut up, he didn’t want to make the situation worse.

“Right, let’s get back to practice.” Hongjoong said quietly, rubbing at his own tired eyes and dragging himself to his feet to go and turn the music back on. Yunho followed a moment later, trying to make his way back into formation without drawing any attention to himself. The shouting had gotten to him more than he had realised, Wooyoung never usually got angry at Yunho, especially for just speaking. He supposed it had been a tough day and Yunho could have been more considerate, but he still felt rotten nonetheless.

By the time practice had drawn to a close, Yunho was ready to go back to the dorm and not leave his room for the foreseeable future. Wooyoung had taken to ignoring him, save for the few steely glances thrown his way when he would miss a step or move a beat too soon. But Yunho was distracted, head somewhere faraway and dark, his thoughts swirling and jeering at him.

The car ride home was too quiet, a bit of light having been drawn out of the group the moment Yunho had stopped speaking. He spent some time trying to sleep, before realising it was useless and instead scrolled aimlessly through his phone in an attempt to pass the time.

“Yunho, we’re back.” Came his manager’s voice, cutting through the fog in Yunho’s head that had grown a little too thick as he found himself outside the dorm, everyone else already making their way inside.

“I’m coming.” He grumbled and hauled himself out of the car, following after the others and trudging up the stairs towards their door. Everyone’s mood seemed to perk up as they reached the confines of their own dorm, San and Jongho instantly rushing to flop down on the couch and fight over what they would be having for dinner. Now, on any normal day, Yunho would have joined them, but today wasn’t normal and so he made his way towards his bedroom instead, knowing it would be quieter and he wouldn’t have to face the others in there.

Once the door was shut and Yunho was safely tucked under his mound of blankets, he finally let himself breathe, a small whimper bubbling out of his throat which soon turned into quiet sobs, soaking his duvet with tears. He felt stupid, crying over something as small as this. But it had been a long day and an even longer week, Yunho was all too fragile to deal with something like this. Maybe it was for the best that Wooyoung had told him to shut up? Maybe everyone else thought that he was loud too and Wooyoung was simply taking one for the team? Yunho curled up even smaller as his brain kept producing questions he could not answer, eventually falling asleep from sheer exhaustion alone.

It was hours later, when the moon was the only one awake that Yunho carefully sat up, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes and stretching out his aching limbs. Everything felt heavy, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. The dorms were deathly quiet and Yunho could just about hear San’s careful breathing in the bunk above him, but the only thing Yunho could focus on was how much he needed a glass of water, maybe something to eat too as his stomach decided to grumble.

Yunho made sure to tiptoe through the dorm, not wanting to disturb anyone else as he made his way towards the kitchen. He managed to fill up a glass with water and grab a cereal bar from the snack cupboard just fine, letting out a sigh of relief before beginning his journey back towards his bedroom. That was where the problems decided to start happening.

Yunho’s hand was definitely on his glass one moment, but a fraction of a second later it was slipping from his grip before he could stop it, the boy gasping as he tried to grab it once again. The loud smash told him that it had been useless. Yunho instantly moved to switch on the hallway light, scrambling to find something to clean up his mess with as he prayed that everyone would just stay in bed. But luck was never truly on his side.

Hongjoong was the first to poke his head around the door, groaning as he realised that it was Yunho and that they weren’t, in fact, being burgled at three in the morning.

“What the heck did you do?” Hongjoong asked, voice twinged with annoyance as Yunho continued to try and clean up his mess. When Hongjoong didn’t get an answer he decided to try again, all of the other boys watching what was happening by now but choosing not to intervene, not when it was too early and they were barely awake.

“Yunho just stop cleaning and answer me!” Hongjoong said, much louder this time as his voice rang out down the hallway and Yunho stopped short.

“I uhm… I was trying to get some water and I… made a mess.” He whispered in reply, Wooyoung scoffing before he and a few others decided to go back to their rooms. _Oh so he’s still angry at me then?_ Yunho concluded with a bitten back whimper.

“God you’re being such an idiot today, just clean it up and go back to bed.” Hongjoong seethed and went back into his room, running a hand over his face before closing the door behind him, not letting Seonghwa comment on the situation as he got back into bed.

Yunho was still for another moment before going back to cleaning, hissing under his breath as a small piece of glass sliced down his palm. It was nothing deep but it would probably hurt for the next few days.

When everything was cleaned up, Yunho found himself more exhausted than ever, returning to his room to find it empty. San had probably gone to sleep with someone else, Yunho couldn’t blame him. This time, his blankets seemed to feel cold, no matter how many he pulled on top of himself. Yunho held his injured hand to his chest, crying once more as he slipped off into sleep.

The morning was a lost cause to Yunho, having slept most of it away as he refused to venture outside of his room. San had come in at one point to grab some clothes before leaving as fast as he could, he didn’t say a word. So Yunho fell back asleep, the morning tumbling into the afternoon and soon enough the evening had rolled around once again. No one came to check up on him, and if they had, Yunho never heard them. If he was asleep, Yunho was plagued by nightmares, if he was awake all he wanted to do was cry; Yunho really couldn’t win. 

There came a time that evening when the doorbell rang and someone went to bring in the food, Yunho waking up only to realise that he hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours. If this had been any other day, Seonghwa would be hounding after him and forcing him to eat, but this wasn’t any other day and Yunho definitely didn’t deserve that kind of attention.

That was when Yunho started to cry again, curling up as small as his large frame would allow him and burying his face into his pillow to muffle any of his noises. By now, his muscles were cramped and aching from being cooped up in bed all day and his nose was stuffy and red. Yunho felt absolutely terrible, but he was sure it would not get better if he went out into the living room now. Surely none of the boys would want to see his face, they probably hated him for waking them up and making the past twenty-four hours miserable for everyone.

Yunho didn’t even realise that his thumb had made its way past his lips until he was already nursing on it, the action soothing his tears and shaking limbs just a little. He really didn’t want to slip now, already knowing that he was being a burden, but everything was falling apart so fast and Yunho was trying to clutch at fraying strings.

The boy fell into his headspace very fast, babbling quietly to himself as he reached over towards his small pile of plushies and cushions that lay at the end of his bed, his collection steadily growing after numerous fansigns. Yunho grabbed the softest teddy bear he could find and hugged it close to his chest, still sucking on his thumb as he nestled against his pillow. He wondered whether he should go and find one of the others, Seonghwa always said that he should seek one of them out if he felt small, but the world was so big and scary right now, Yunho didn’t know if he could do it. Especially not now that everyone was mad at him, Yunho wondered if they would even look after him after what he had done?

But, all of his plans vanished out of the window when he realised he needed to use the bathroom, Yunho scrambling to his feet with his teddy bear still tucked under his arm. He knew that everyone was still eating, the seven of them loud and laughing along to something on the TV, but Yunho was desperate and decided to face the outside of his bedroom.

He hesitantly stepped out, no one having heard him leave as he crept across the hallway towards the bathroom, but he was stopped in his tracks when someone noticed his presence.

“Yunho, come here, we need to talk.” Came Hongjoong’s voice, monotonous to Yunho’s ears as he started to panic again. He couldn’t face Hongjoong like this, deciding to instead carrying on walking towards the bathroom with his head hung low.

“Yunho…” Hongjoong sighed, Yunho could almost hear him roll his eyes as the elder got up onto his feet, moving quickly to get to the younger. But it wasn’t quick enough, Yunho darting into the bathroom and locking the door before anyone could get a word in edge ways.

Yunho tried to do his business as quickly as possible but Hongjoong was knocking on the door, trying to push away Seonghwa who kept telling him to drop it. The noises only made the little boy grow anxious, hands shaking as he washed them and dried them off. He didn’t want to open the door, but Yunho also wanted a hug, he wanted a hug very very badly.

Yunho opened the door, clutching his teddy bear tightly as he looked at the seven sets of eyes gazing at him with different emotions. Some were clearly worried whilst others looked annoyed, maybe even angry and Yunho couldn’t stomach that thought at all. He burst into tears once again, sobbing as he stood there, shocking everyone into silence once again before someone took the initiative to do something. It was Seonghwa that stepped forward, crossing the invisible boundary that had separated Yunho from everyone else and cuddling the younger as tightly as he could.

No one else followed for a moment, Yunho whimpered at the thought that they were all angry at him, but the thoughts were soon quashed as Yeosang joined, and then San, and Mingi and Jongho. Everyone except for a solitary Hongjoong and Wooyoung, both of them standing with gaped mouths and clenched fists.

“Yunnie… Sweetheart, why don’t you come and eat darling?” Seonghwa suggested, having easily picked up on what headspace Yunho had slipped into from the moment he had left his room. Yunho nodded in response, letting Seonghwa guide him to the sofa and sit him down on his lap. Despite being the shorter of the pair, Seonghwa could always make Yunho feel tiny just by tucking him away on his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger as he did so. Seonghwa made sure that Yunho had a full plate of food before letting the younger dig in, eyeing everyone around them in a silent plea not to startle the fragile little on his lap.

The rest of dinner was continued in near silence, save for Yunho’s tiny giggles whenever Seonghwa or Yeosang would feed him, the pair looking at Yunho with fondness whilst also glaring at Hongjoong and Wooyoung every so often. Everyone knew that a proper apology needed to happen, they were all simply waiting for it to occur and there was no time like the present, right?

When Yunho had finished the last slice of pizza that Seonghwa had been feeding him, he heard Hongjoong clear his throat and settle down in front of him, holding out his hands for Yunho to take. However, Yunho didn’t move, Hongjoong didn’t blame him, instead opening his mouth to speak.

“Yunnie, Daddy is really sorry for shouting at you. I know I shouldn’t have done it and I promise not to do it again, I was tired and it was wrong of me.” He told Yunho, the younger looking down at him with big, puppy eyes as he finally reached to take Hongjoong’s hands in his.

“I’m sorry too Yunnie.” Wooyoung began, Yeosang shuffling over to make space for him on the couch, Yunho giggling as Wooyoung almost tripped over his own feet trying to sit down. “Yesterday, I was bad and I told you to shut up and that wasn’t nice. I didn’t really want you to shut up, I was sleepy and my head was hurting but that isn’t an excuse.” Yunho nodded along to what Wooyoung was saying, reaching to take one of his hands too and squeezing his palm gently.

“Do you forgive them sweetheart?” Seonghwa asked him after a beat of silence, encouraging Yunho to speak as he rubbed his back gently.

“Forgive them.” Yunho echoed back with a toothy grin, Mingi and Jongho cheering quietly causing Yunho to giggle once again.

“But now Daddy and Wooie need time out?” He asked Seonghwa, looking up at the eldest and tilting his head to the side in question, Seonghwa could only laugh and ruffle Yunho’s hair.

“Mummy can put them in time out if you’d like baby, but wouldn’t you rather we all played a game or watched a film?” Seonghwa said to which Yunho instantly agreed, nodding his head quickly until Hongjoong had to reach up and stop him, not wanting their baby to get a headache.

“Wanna play hide and seek, please Mummy?” Yunho said and burst into another fit of giggles as Mingi and Jongho whooped in response, their overdramatic reactions having lit up the room.

“Well then I guess you better go hide because Mummy is going to start counting.” Seonghwa grinned, tickling at Yunho’s sides before the younger scrambled to his feet, everyone rushing off to find a prime hiding spot as Seonghwa began to count to fifty.

Yunho made a beeline towards the kitchen, the little boy almost always chose the same hiding spot because he liked it so much. He crawled underneath the table, pulling down the table cloth a bit so that he couldn’t be seen as he hugged his legs to his chest. Everything was quiet for a moment, except for the sound of Seonghwa counting, until a pair of footsteps approached, a shadow leaning down and pulling up the table cloth. Wooyoung’s head peaked under, Yunho quietly giggling as the younger moved to join him there.

“Hiya Wooie.” Came Yunho’s quiet whisper, huddling closer to Wooyoung and leaning his head against his shoulder. Wooyoung almost cooed from just how adorable the whole situation was, but Seonghwa finished his counting and so he withheld it.

“Ready or not here I come!” Seonghwa called, Yunho trying to hold back his ongoing giggles as he nuzzled into the crook of Wooyoung’s neck, the little's hair tickling his face.

“Is anyone in here?” Seonghwa asked as he poked his head into the kitchen, instantly spotting the two shadows underneath the table but he chose to ignore them, knowing from the quiet noises that Yunho was there. “Hmm… I guess not?” He said with a grin and moved onto the bathroom to continue his search.

Yunho squeaked happily as soon as Seonghwa had gone, clapping his hands together at the thought that him and Wooyoung hadn’t been found.

“Wow, you’re so good at this game puppy.” Wooyoung cooed, using Yunho’s favourite pet name as he cuddled him close, Yunho practically on his lap by now.

“This best place.” Yunho whispered back, looking around his tiny hiding spot before tucking himself away against Wooyoung once again, yawning as he listened to Seonghwa go around the dorm, discovering everyone one by one. It seemed like they really were going to be the last to be found, that made Yunho happy, he liked winning games. But the boy was also getting rather sleepy, eyes drooping shut as he started to lean a bit more against Wooyoung, trusting him to take care of him now that they were on good terms again.

“I wonder where Wooyoung and Yunnie could be?” Seonghwa said as he started to wander into the kitchen again, poking around for show as the other boys followed after him. Eventually, the eldest peeled back the table cloth, revealing Wooyoung and Yunho who were very much still attached to one another, Yunho growing more and more tired as he curled up against Wooyoung.

Everyone cooed and quietened down as Yunho made grabby hands towards Seonghwa, the eldest moving to scoop him up as Wooyoung followed out after him.

“We win?” Yunho asked, voice already much quieter as Seonghwa nodded in reply.

“You and Wooie won sweetheart, but I think it’s bedtime now hmm?” Seonghwa said, Yunho only clinging onto him tighter as they went around and said goodnight to everyone. Ever since Yunho had started being small with them, Seonghwa had pretty much been declared as the one who took care of bedtimes for the little boy and nothing had changed since. They soon settled into their routine, Seonghwa helping Yunho to brush his teeth and wash his face, before letting him use the bathroom as Seonghwa got out some pyjamas and a few other items for the younger. Eventually, Yunho was warmly dressed in some penguin patterned pyjamas, a pacifier between his lips as he hugged onto his teddy bear tightly.

Hongjoong walked into his bedroom, just as Seonghwa was looking through the bedtime stories with Yunho, the little boy perking up and giggling as he spotted his Daddy. The three of them ended up pushing the two single beds together so that they could all fit in, Seonghwa about to ask once again about the story when Yunho spoke.

“Mummy and Daddy sing… For Yunnie?” Yunho asked, words a little jumbled behind his pacifier but they both understood, Seonghwa nodding and settling down, Yunho squished in between him and Hongjoong.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong began to sing a gentle lullaby, cuddling Yunho close and making sure the younger one knew just how loved he was. Even after the events of the past few days, both of them could only hope that Yunho wouldn’t shy away from them. They loved their little one so much.

Yunho yawned, eyes fluttering shut soon after the singing had begun, his hand curling into the material of Seonghwa’s shirt. He babbled out something unintelligible, giggling to himself at his own actions before slowly drifting off to sleep.

“Night night puppy, we love you.” Hongjoong whispered, leaving a tiny kiss on Yunho’s forehead before allowing himself to close his eyes, both him and Seonghwa falling asleep moments later.

The dorm was quiet and peaceful, all tension having gone. Yunho was happy, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> here's my twitter :D : [@acepiri](https://twitter.com/acepiri)  
> 


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